The Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention of 1968 elected Pierre Elliott Trudeau as the new leader of the Liberal Party. He was the unexpected winner in what was one of the most important leadership conventions in party history. The Globe and Mail newspaper report the next day called it "the most chaotic, confusing, and emotionally draining convention in Canadian political history."
The convention was held following the retirement of Lester B. Pearson, who was a much respected party leader and Prime Minister of Canada, but who had failed to win a majority government in two attempts. Eight high profile cabinet ministers entered the race, but by the time the convention began on April 3 the charismatic Trudeau had emerged as the front runner. He was strongly opposed by the party's right wing, but this faction was divided between former Minister of Trade and Commerce Robert Winters and Minister of Transport Paul Hellyer, and failed to mount a united opposition. Trudeau won the leadership with the support of 51% delegates on the fourth ballot of the convention.
Pearson retires
Liberal leader and Prime Minister Lester Pearson announced on December 14, 1967 that he would be retiring in April 1968. Pearson had been Liberal leader since 1958 and Prime Minister since 1963. He was still much liked by the party and by the Canadian people in general, but he had failed in two attempts to win a majority government. The Liberals were also trailing in the polls behind the Progressive Conservatives, whose popular new leader Robert Stanfield had been selected in September 1967.
Long before the actual convention a vigorous leadership contest had begun. At the outset the two leading candidates were believed to be Jean Marchand and Paul Joseph James Martin, both highly respected elder statesmen. The unofficial Liberal Party tradition was to alternate between Francophone and Anglophone leaders, and Lester Pearson viewed Marchand as his ideal successor. Martin was a highly respected veteran minister who had finished second to Pearson in the 1958 convention, and his ambitions to try again for the top job were well-known.
Marchand declined to run, however, not being interested and suggesting that his English and health were not good enough to be a national leader. It was seen as necessary for national unity and the health of the party to have a strong Quebec candidate. Marchand and Gérard Pelletier united behind Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau had little experience and was not well-known nationally, but had earned some renown for his wit and charisma. He had received plaudits for a wide-ranging overhaul of the criminal code that removed many of the morality laws, such as those against sodomy. Trudeau also had the strong support of top Pearson advisor Marc Lalonde as well as the tacit backing of Pearson himself, who felt it was important that a Francophone finish in at least second in the race.
The campaign
The campaign consisted of trying to win over the almost twenty-four hundred delegates who would go to the April convention. These consisted of prominent Liberals from across the country and also ordinary party members elected by each riding association. The campaign lasted from after the Christmas recess up to the convention. Parliament was in session during this period and since all the major candidates were important cabinet ministers finding time to campaign was difficult. Thus it mostly consisted of the candidates taking short trips to various parts of the country to try and win over delegates.
Trudeau campaign
As Trudeau gained more public exposure, his popularity grew. Trudeau is believed to have decided he would run while on holiday in Tahiti over the Christmas break of 1967. The winter of 1968 was dominated by the lead up to a February constitutional convention. Trudeau as justice minister was expected to play an important role at the convention. Lalonde, with the approval of Pearson, organized a pre-convention national tour where Trudeau would meet with each of the premiers to talk about the constitution, and also to get guaranteed news coverage. One of his most important meetings was with Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood, whom Trudeau sufficiently impressed to earn Smallwood's lasting support. At the constitutional convention itself Trudeau made a strong impression by outmanoeuvring and outdebating Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson, Sr on national television. Johnson, and many others, felt that French Canadian disaffection could only be addressed by giving Quebec more autonomy. Trudeau rejected this approach arguing that the best way to protect the interests of French Canadians was to guarantee their rights across Canada. On February 17, only days after this success, Trudeau declared himself as an official candidate for the Liberal leadership.
To the surprise of many, Trudeau became one of the prime contenders. Marchand played a leading role in Trudeau's campaign and brought in many supporters, especially in Quebec. Trudeau received endorsements from three cabinet ministers, and two provincial premiers with Louis Robichaud of New Brunswick joining Smallwood. Trudeau's charisma and attention-grabbing behaviour earned him far more media coverage than any other candidate. A Université Laval study found that from January 1 to March 20 Trudeau had received 26% percent of the media coverage devoted to the nine candidates running. Finance Minister Mitchell Sharp was a distant second with only 16%. Trudeau also received attention outside Canada being profiled in both the British and American media.
By the end of the campaign, Trudeau was unquestionably the most popular figure among the Canadian public. A public opinion poll gave Trudeau 32% support, Martin 14%, and Winters 10%, with the other candidates in single digits. Many within the Liberal Party still had deep doubts about him, however. He was a recent convert, having joined the party only in 1965, and was still considered an outsider. Many saw him as too radical and outspoken a figure. A significant portion of the party was bitterly opposed to his views on divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. A number of minor scandals also broke out as articles he wrote that were deeply critical of Pearson, especially of the decision to accept nuclear weapons in Canada, were republished. He was also forced to explain why he had been blacklisted by the United States in the 1950s. Trudeau's campaign was not run by professional political consultants. Rather the campaign was directed by a group of young, extremely well-educated amateurs such as Gordon Gibson and Jim Davey. The team impressed many, but it also made a number of errors.
Other candidates
The race was by no means a sure thing for Trudeau and a number of potent candidates remained in the contest. Finance Minister Mitchell Sharp was one of the highest profile cabinet ministers and represented the same liberal wing of the party as Trudeau. His campaign was badly hurt, however, when on February 19 the government was unexpectedly defeated on a tax bill, almost forcing a snap election. Pearson was out of the country, and as senior minister and finance minister getting the bill passed was Sharp's responsibility. After this debacle Sharp was prevented from campaigning through much of March by a collapse in the world gold market that he had to deal with. Despite intensive campaigning in the last few days, internal polling found that Sharp had fewer than 150 delegates and was unlikely to even be able to play kingmaker. Thus the day before the convention, Sharp dropped out of the race and endorsed Trudeau. Sharp brought a number of other ministers with him into the Trudeau camp, including Jean Chrétien, and at least a hundred delegates. The endorsement of the respected elder statesman also reassured many who liked Trudeau but were worried about his radical image.
A number of potent candidates remained in the race, including much of the inner cabinet. Paul Hellyer ran one of the most skilled campaigns directed by Bill Lee, who was widely regarded as one of the Liberal's best campaign managers. The campaign received much attention for using a computer to keep track of delegates. By the convention Hellyer was widely viewed as having the greatest chance to defeat Trudeau. He had several prominent backers including Defence Minister Leo Cadieux and Secretary of State Judy LaMarsh. He drew support from a wide part of the political spectrum and from across the country, but was generally seen as somewhat to the right of Trudeau.
Robert Winters entered the race late, but won strong support representing the right-wing of the party. He promised to privatize crown corporations if elected and also was highly critical of Pearson's fiscal policy, arguing that the new social programs would damage the Canadian economy. The faction of the party that was deeply worried about Trudeau's insurgency hoped for one of Hellyer or Winters to drop out and support the other, but neither would compromise.
Several other prominent ministers remained in the campaign, but were seen as having little chance of victory. The campaign of elder statesman Paul Martin, who had first run for the Liberal leadership in 1958, had slowly faded. Canada seemed in a mood to reject elder statesmen with few new ideas in favour of the fresh new faces. Martin remained i
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